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To promote stable, constructive labor-management relations through the resolution and prevention of labor disputes in a manner that gives full effect to the collective-bargaining rights of employees, unions, and agencies.

15 FLRA No. 106
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE,
OFFICE OF DEPENDENTS EDUCATION /1/
Activity
and
OVERSEAS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
Petitioner/Labor Organization
and
OVERSEAS FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
AFT, AFL-CIO
Intervenor/Labor Organization
Case No. 3-AC-30009
DECISION AND ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed with the Federal Labor Relations Authority
under section 7111(b)(2) of the Federal Service Labor-Management
Relations Statute (the Statute), a hearing was held before a hearing
officer of the Authority. The hearing officer's rulings made at the
hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record, including the parties' contentions, the
Authority finds: The Petitioner, Overseas Education Association,
National Education Association (OEA), seeks to amend its certification
of representative by changing the name of the Activity from Department
of Defense Dependents Schools (DODDS) to Department of Defense, Office
of Dependents' Education, and further seeks to amend the description of
its bargaining unit contained in the Regional Director's "Certification
of Representative," dated June 22, 1982, which was issued pursuant to an
election directed by the Authority in Department of Defense Dependents
Schools, 6 FLRA 297 (1981).
Pursuant to the above "Certification of Representative," OEA was
certified as the exclusive bargaining representative for the following
unit of employees:
All nonsupervisory professional school-level personnel employed
by the Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Atlantic Region;
excluding all nonprofessional employees, substitute teachers,
management officials, supervisors and employees described in
section 7112(b)(2), (3), (4), (6), and (7) of the Statute.
All nonsupervisory professional school-level personnel employed
by the Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Germany North
Region; excluding all nonprofessional employees, substitute
teachers, management officials, supervisors and employees
described in section 7112(b)(2), (3), (4), (6) and (7) of the
Statute.
All nonsupervisory professional school-level personnel employed
by the Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Germany South
Region; excluding all nonprofessional employees, substitute
teachers, management officials, supervisors, and employees
described in section 7112(b)(2), (3), (4), (6) and (7) of the
Statute.
All nonsupervisory professional school-level personnel employed
by the Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Pacific Region;
excluding all nonprofessional employees, substitute teachers,
management officials, supervisors and employees described in
Section 7112(b)(2), (3), (4), (6) and (7) of the Statute.
In addition, also as a result of elections directed in DODDS, 6 FLRA
297 (1981), the Intervenor, Overseas Federation of Teachers, AFT,
AFL-CIO (OFT), was certified as the exclusive representative for a unit
of employees in the Activity's Mediterranean Region, and the Panama
Canal Federation of Teachers, Local 29, AFT, AFL-CIO (PCFT), was
certified as the exclusive bargaining representative in a unit of
employees in the Activity's Panama Region.
The OEA seeks to amend its certified bargaining unit description to
read as follows:
All nonsupervisory professional school-level personnel employed
by the Department of Defense, Office of Dependents' Education,
except those employed in the current Panama and Mediterranean
Regions; excluding all nonprofessional employees, substitute
teachers, management officials, supervisors and employees
described in Section 7112(b)(2), (3), (4), (6) and (7) of the
Statute.
The OEA states that it seeks the above-noted change in its unit
description to make clear that its level of recognition is at the
Activity's national level. Thus, OEA notes that the election directed
by the Authority in DODDS, supra, resulted in its certification at the
national level although the certification of representative indicated a
region-by-region description of the unit. Further, OEA maintains that
it seeks the change in the name of the Activity only to assure that the
certification reflects the "true name" of the Activity as established by
the Defense Dependents' Education Act of 1978, 20 U.S.C. 921 et seq.
(Supplement II, 1978).
The Activity opposes the proposed amendment of certification changing
the Activity's name on the ground that there has been no actual change
in its name and the proposed change would cause confusion. The Activity
supports only such amendment of the certification as would reflect a
merger of the DODDS Germany North Region and the DODDS Germany South
Region which occurred because of a reorganization subsequent to the June
22, 1982 certification. It maintains that further amendment as sought
by OEA, which in effect would describe its unit as including all
professional school-level personnel of the Activity except those two
units currently represented by other labor organizations, including the
Intervenor, is not proper, since any future reorganizations could result
in the inclusion in the Petitioner's proposed unit description of
regions currently represented by other labor organizations or regions
not yet created.
The OFT also opposes the proposed amendment to the OEA's certified
bargaining unit description. Its primary concern is that such an
amendment could mean that the creation of a new region by DODDS or a
change in the existing Mediterranean or Panama Regions would allow the
OEA to automatically accrete employees without the filing of a CU or
representation petition. Further, OFT asserts, there is no dispute
among the parties that the level of recognition for the OEA unit is at
the Activity's national level.
There is no assertion of any change in OEA's certified unit
subsequent to the certification on June 22, 1982, except for the merger
of DODDS Germany North Region and Germany South Region. Therefore, the
Authority shall grant the petition to amend certification to reflect
this change in organization. However, further amendment of
certification, as sought by the Petitioner, shall be denied. Thus, an
amendment to certification petition is intended to accommodate a nominal
or technical change of an activity or exclusive representative. See,
e.g., National Aeronautics and Space Administration Headquarters,
Administration Division, 12 FLRA No. 37 (1983). As there has been no
change in the Activity's name, nor has there been any reorganization or
other change in the certified unit other than as noted above in respect
to the DODDS Germany North Region and Germany South Region subsequent to
OEA's certification, there is no basis for such amendment.
ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that the unit of employees for which the Overseas
Education Association, National Education Association was certified as
the exclusive representative on June 22, 1982, be amended by deleting
reference to Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Germany North
Region and Germany South Region, and substituting in its place,
Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Germany Region.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the remainder of the petition in Case No.
3-AC-30009 be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
Issued, Washington, D.C., August 9, 1984
Barbara J. Mahone, Chairman
Ronald W. Haughton, Member
Henry B. Frazier III, Member
FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY
--------------- FOOTNOTES$ ---------------
/1/ The name of the Activity in the caption appears as it was set
forth by the Petitioner/Labor Organization in the petition herein. The
Activity considers that its proper designation continues to be the
Department of Defense Dependents Schools, as it was identified in the
certification of representative which the Petitioner/Labor Organization
seeks to amend.